The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 131

Bernard frowned. He put the glass he was holding down on the table and pressed the area around his chest with his other hand. Uncomfortable feeling roaming around his chest. That unpleasant feeling never went away.

“Is it because I’m nervous or something……. It’s unlike me.”

“Maybe it’s not because you’re nervous, but because you’re responsible?”

Herietta quietly sneaked in her point of view.

“Everyone is praising Your Highness. They say that you have excellent insight and excellent leadership skills, and that you must have been born with the qualities of a king.”

“What are the qualities of a king? To be locked up in the fortress and doing nothing.”

Bernard snorted and muttered.

“You see, Herietta, I hear that you’re showing great performance and I heard plenty of compliments.”

“Me?”

Herietta widened her eyes and pointed at herself. Bernard nodded his head.

“Yes. You gathered volunteers and established a treatment place so that wounded soldiers could receive proper treatment. Not only that, but you also devise a delivery system so that soldiers on the frontline can procure the items they need on time.”

Bernard couldn’t see Herietta’s face often because he was so busy after the battle started, but he heard stories about Herietta from time to time.

She is a young unmarried woman. In addition, the story of a woman who was known to be from a foreign country with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and running around in all directions for the sake of Velicia’s army caught the attention of many people.

At first, some people looked at her disapprovingly, saying that her behavior was suspicious. However, it was only a temporary thing, and as time passed and the number of injured and dead increased rapidly, the way people looked at Herietta changed.

She was not a strong woman, and at least not a citizen of this country. Herietta is far from the image of a hero, and even at first glance, Herietta is not much different from anyone. Because of that, her performance would have come more effectively to Velician people, and they would have been deeply impressed.

Even such a woman works so hard for someone that was not from her country.

The number of people reaching out to help Herietta grew like a snowball. And that number exceeded thirty in just three days. The situation was not intended at all, so it was something that surprised not only Bernard who heard the story later, but also Herietta, who was the starting point of this incident.

“It seems that it is you, Herietta, who have excellent insight and exceptional leadership skills, not me.”

Bernard said.

“I really think you are great.”

It was pure sincerity, not mixed with a single lie. He was born as a prince of Velicia, and unlike him, who had been given a lot from the beginning, Herietta was a stranger here. The fact that she had won so many people’s trust in such a short amount of time was amazing.

Despite Bernard’s sincere admiration, Herietta was silent for a while. She didn’t show off nor deny it, she just stared at him sitting in front of her with clear eyes.

Before long, Herietta, who had been sitting still like a doll, opened her mouth.

“You still don’t know? It was none other than Your Highness that made me move.”

“Me to you?”

Bernard made a slightly surprised face after hearing those unexpected words. Herietta nodded her head.

“Yes. Because you were the only one. The person who willingly reached out a hand to me standing on the edge of a cliff.”

It was still clearly drawn before her eyes.

‘I, Bernard Cenchilla Shane Pascourt, the second prince of Velicia, will help you, Herietta Mackenzie of Brimdel.’

The image of Bernard, who had promised her help without hesitation, to her who fell into the abyss of despair.

Herietta cast her gaze downward.

A sip of water obtained while wandering in the desert is sweet, and the flower blooming at the end of the abyss is so beautiful that it brings tears to her eyes.

But Bernard wouldn’t know. How much help and comfort the words he had casually uttered had helped her.

“So, Your Highness, I want to help you this time. Even if I repay you for the rest of my life, I won’t be able to repay even half of the grace I received from Your Highness.”

Herietta said with a soft smile.

“Did you say that I am amazing?”

“…….”

“Then Your Highness, who made me move like that, must have been even more amazing.”

Bernard stared at Herietta in silence for a while. The image of her past was superimposed on her sitting under the moonlight.

Sitting in the moonlight with a fragile figure as if she is about to break. The woman he thought he should protect, was no longer to be found. Like the moon, no, being brighter and more beautiful than the moon.

Bernard thought that at this moment, the Herietta in front of him looked more solid and stronger than himself.

Anyone can see that she is physically smaller than and has a slender body than Bernard.

“What if I’m just a coward?”

Bernard asked, tilting his head.

“What if, contrary to what you think, I’m just a pitiful coward?”

“A coward? Your Highness?”

Herietta asked, widening her eyes. After a while, her cheeks swell, laughter came out with a puffy, deflated sound.

“What nonsense is that? You, a coward? Even a passing dog would laugh!”

Herietta said with a laugh.

“Yes. If you are going to say such nonsense, please tell me that I am the most beautiful and elegant woman Your Highness has ever seen. That would be much more credible than the absurd hypothesis that Your Highness is a coward.”

“…… are you not?”

“What?”

“Aren’t you the most beautiful and elegant woman I’ve ever seen?”

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